Reports said that the BJP's youth wing lodged a complaint against a Facebook post by Mr Chavara which allegedly insulted the anthem. The post was apparently an excerpt from one of his books.

Senior police official Sateesh Bino told the NDTV news channel that the writer-activist "is being questioned for his controversial post on the national anthem on Facebook" and had been charged with sedition.

Earlier this month, 12 people were arrested at a cinema in Kerala, after they remained seated while the national anthem played.

The cinemagoers, who were attending an international film festival, were later freed but they face charges of "failure to obey an order issued by a public servant, thereby causing obstruction or annoyance to others".

And at a cinema in Chennai, eight people who did not stand for the anthem were assaulted and abused, police said. The eight were later charged with showing disrespect to the anthem.